Sealing means for beverage container

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides an improved sealing means, typically a lid, for a beverage container. Positioned, between the annular cover portion of the lid and the rim of the beverage container, is a liquid permeable filter, this filter having an opening for receiving a mounting member in the form of a protrusion, which extends from the annular cover portion, downwards, through the annular cover portion, into the beverage container, where the inner peripheral edge of the opening of the liquid permeable filter is attached around the outer periphery of the protrusion. With a protrusion in the form of a tube surrounding an opening in the annular cover portion, food additives are allowed to be inserted after the lid has been mounted to the drinking container.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to means for preparing hot, infused beverages. More particularly, it relates to sealing means for a hot beverage infusion device, used to prepare a single cup of coffee or tea.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The classical brewing principle, ‘presso’ brewing, where the coffee, tea or alike is blended with hot water and is separated from the liquid with a filter, is considered by many experts to be the best way to produce high quality coffee. However, this principle requires pots and filter-plungers and it is not ideal for the hot beverage to-go market. In recent years many attempts have been made to give customers a possibility to choose the type of beverage they want, with the base of only adding hot water or alike without investing in brewing machines. In US 2008/0035652 is described a drinking container with a top filter lid. This lid comprises a cover portion having an opening through which liquid can be consumed from the drink container and wherein a liquid permeable filter is positioned between the container attachment portion and the annular cover portion of the lid. The liquid permeable filter is positioned so as to intercept all liquid flowing from the container through the opening and hence to the mouth of the consumer.

The solution described seems to be a sturdy candidate for replacing the classical ‘presso’ brewing pot, but alas, this solution has a major disadvantage namely that, when using a filter to separate coffee powder and water, the filter tends to be filled with the small particles from the coffee. Therefore it is not possible to drink the coffee or tea from the cup with a normal flow. The filter will eventually be clogged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a sealing means for improving the hot beverage market with “a one cup solution” where one only needs to add hot water, or any other type of liquid, such as milk or alike, to brew a hot beverage.

According to the invention this object is achieved by an improved sealing means, typically a lid, for a beverage container, wherein said sealing means comprises an annular cover portion for covering an opening at an upper end of a beverage container. This annular cover portion has an opening through which liquids can be consumed from the beverage container and also a peripheral side wall portion, which is disposed around an outer peripheral edge of the annular cover portion. The sealing means further comprises a liquid permeable filter that is positioned between the annular cover portion of the sealing means and an opening located at the upper end, rim, of the beverage container. The annular cover portion of the sealing means is further provided with at least one mounting member which is adapted to act as a guide for the liquid permeable filter during mounting thereof and as an engagement member for the liquid permeable filter for retaining said filter after mounting thereof.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the liquid permeable filter has an opening with an inner peripheral edge and said at least one mounting member has the form of a protrusion which through an outer peripheral surface thereof cooperates with said inner peripheral edge of the opening in the filter.

An advantage of the present invention is that the protrusion enables the liquid permeable filter to be attached both with accuracy and cost efficiency to the annular cover portion. This without any welding or need for expensive precision mounting tools.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the sealing means further comprises another, second opening in the annular cover portion, providing access to the interior of the beverage container and to which a protrusion in the form of a tube is arranged. This tube extends from the second opening of the annular cover portion and downwards through the annular cover portion into the beverage container where the inner peripheral edge of the opening of the liquid permeable filter is attached around an outer peripheral side wall of the tube. This tube is, as indicated above, adapted to guide the liquid permeable filter and also to act as an attachment means between the tube and said opening in the filter.

Thus, a further advantage of the present invention is that the tube also provides the user with the ability to add milk and sweetener, such as sugar, without having to remove the lid and thereby risk of spilling of hot beverages.

A yet further advantage of the present invention is that since the filter is mounted on the protrusion/tube it is spaced apart from the annular cover portion such that the space defined between the underside of the lid and the filter allows fluid to flow freely, and at the same time use a larger area of the filter, thus minimizing clogging.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic top perspective view of one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the sealing means of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of the sealing means of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a schematic bottom perspective view of the sealing means of the embodiment of FIG. 1, showing a filter fixed to a tube.

FIG. 5 is a schematic bottom perspective view of the sealing means of the embodiment of FIG. 1, with the filter fully mounted.

FIG. 6 is a schematic side perspective sectional view illustrating the filter and the tube engagement.

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration showing the sealing means mounted onto a drinking container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

It should be emphasized that the term comprises/comprising, when used in this specification, is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, or components, but does not preclude the presence, or addition, of one or more other features, integers, steps, components, or groups thereof. The following detailed description illustrates the invention by way of example and not by way of limitation.

The described embodiments herein are created from the basic concept that the coffee or tea could be brewed directly in a cup or a mug, only by adding coffee or tea and liquid. Thus when utilizing the sealing means, the lid, of the present invention, the typical consumer merely places the desired coffee amount into the beverage container, adds hot water in the desired amount, and allows the coffee to steep for an appropriate amount of time, places the sealing means comprising a liquid permeable filter on top the beverage container and consumes the brewed coffee.

FIG. 1 illustrates a typical drink container that could be acquired at coffee shops, and many other food and drink businesses which sell eat-in or carry-out food and accompanying drinks. The disposable sealing means 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 appears to be typical of sealing means, lids, for drink containers 110 and comprises therefore an annular cover portion 230 with an attachment portion for removable association with the rim 120 of the container 110 in a snug, liquid-tight relation. The annular cover portion 230 covers the opening at the upper end of the container 110. The annular cover portion 230 is provided with an opening 210 that allows liquid to be consumed from the container 110 in a conventional manner. Said opening 210 opens into a lip portion 215 of the sealing means 100, emulating the actual rim 120 of a conventional mug or cup, enabling the user to “slurp” the hot drink without burning the mouth. When you drink you can take in air when drinking. The thickness of the lip portion or lip means 215 is e.g. greater than the thickness of the annular cover portion 230, thereby enabling better insulation. Also, as is apparent from particularly FIG. 3, the circumferential 310 of the lip means 215 e.g. equals ⅕ to ¼ of the total circumferential 320 of the annular cover portion 230. The shape also indicates by design and when drinking in dark that you can easily locate the drinking position. The lip means 215 is in the illustrated embodiment made integral with a raised part 225 which extends along the circumferential 320 of the annular cover portion 230 such that said lip means and said raised part form a closed circular projection on the upper side of the annular cover portion. The raised part 225 promotes flow of liquid to the lip means 215 through said first opening 210. The lip means 215 has a through hole 245, as is illustrated particularly in FIGS. 1, 3 and 6. Said through hole 245 has, in the illustrated embodiment of the lip means 215, a substantially rectangular shape, but may of course have any other desired shape. The annular cover portion 230 is further provided with a peripheral side wall portion 260 which is disposed around an outer peripheral edge 280 of said annular cover portion.

The sealing means 100 also comprises a liquid permeable filter 240 (see particularly FIGS. 4-6) which is positioned between the annular cover portion 230 of the sealing means 100 and the opening located at the upper end or rim 120 of the beverage container 110. In the illustrated embodiment, the filter 240 has an opening 400 with an inner peripheral edge 410 (FIG. 4).

Furthermore, the annular cover portion 230 of the sealing means 100 is provided with at least one mounting member 250 which is adapted to act as a guide for the liquid permeable filter 240 during mounting thereof, enabling easy mounting of the filter to the sealing means, and as an engagement member for the filter, retaining said filter in position after mounting thereof.

Although said at least one mounting member may have any desired shape for the intended object of the sealing means according to the present invention, it has in the illustrated embodiment the shape of a protrusion 250. The protrusion 250 is in the illustrated embodiment located centrally on the underside 235 of the annular cover portion 230 and extends from said annular cover portion downwards beyond the lower edge 290 of the peripheral side wall portion 260 of said cover portion into the drinking container 110. The protrusion 250 may be made integral with the annular cover portion 230 or located thereon as a separate member. The protrusion 250 acts, as indicated above, as a guide for the liquid permeable filter 240 during mounting thereof, thereby enabling easy mounting of the filter to the sealing means, and as an engagement member for the filter in order to retain said filter in position after mounting. Since the liquid permeable filter 240 has an opening 400 with an inner peripheral edge 410, an outer peripheral surface of the protrusion 250 thereby cooperates with said inner peripheral edge of the liquid permeable filter for guiding said filter during mounting thereof and for retaining said filter after mounting. The liquid permeable filter 240 may be clicked or otherwise attached to the protrusion 250 in order to give an exact retaining position to the filter.

In the illustrated embodiment with a protrusion in the form of a conical tube 250, said tube is also used to add food additives, such as cream, milk and sugar, after the sealing means as been attached to the drinking container. This is done through another, second opening 220 in the annular cover portion 230, providing access to the interior of the beverage container and about which the tube 250 is arranged. Accordingly, said second opening 220 is in the illustrated embodiment also located centrally in the annular cover portion 230. Stirring of the beverage after the addition of said food additives is preferably performed through said second opening 220. Through said second opening 220 it is also possible to see how much liquid there is in the container 110.

FIG. 5 is showing the underside 235 of the annular cover portion 230 of the sealing means 100 illustrating a liquid permeable filter 240 positioned across the area of the interior of the annular cover portion 230 of the sealing means so as to intercept any liquid flowing from the container 110 through said first opening 210 of the annular cover portion. The position of the liquid permeable filter 240 within the annular cover portion 230 is such that the filter is at a sufficient distance from the first opening 210 and the underside 235 of said annular cover portion, such that no undesirable solid substances will be left in the liquid container such that said filter will jam against said annular cover portion, in a manner such as to impede the flow of liquid from the container through the opening. The liquid permeable filter 240 is attached to the underside 235 of the annular cover portion 230 by engaging, as mentioned above, the opening 400 of the filter to a conical protrusion, here in the form of a tube 250 of the annular cover portion of the sealing means. Thereby, the inner peripheral edge 410 of said opening 400 cooperates with the outer peripheral side wall of the tube 250.

FIG. 6 is a side perspective sectional view and illustrates a suggested positioning of the liquid permeable filter 240 with respect to the container attachment portion mentioned above and the opening 210 and the underside 235 of the annular cover portion 230 of the sealing means 100. In this embodiment, the filter is somewhat taut, thus keeping the filter 240 from engaging the opening 210 and said underside 235 of the annular cover portion 230 of the sealing means 100.

Since, as shown in particularly FIG. 2, the annular cover portion 230 of the sealing means 100 defines a seat 265 for the liquid permeable filter 240, said seat and said peripheral side wall portion 260 of the annular cover portion define said attachment portion for the beverage container 110 and the liquid permeable filter 240 is effectively fixed between said seat 265 defined on said annular cover portion 230 and the rim 120 of the container 110 and will therefore not need any extra membrane to keep it from dripping when you drink.

The beverage container 110 may be made of plastic, metal, ceramic, paper or another suitably strong and heat-resistant material, or a combination of the foregoing.

The liquid permeable filter 240 may be comprised of a mesh material, a porous material, a disk with holes and/or slits to permit the flow of liquid there through, and any other suitable filter which will remove undesirable solid substances from the liquid in the container 110 as the liquid flows from the container through said first opening 210 in the annular cover portion 230 of the lid. Typically the filter 240 is of nylon, PP or other plastic material with a typical mesh size of 150-200 μm.

The coffee/tea is consumed with a natural flow through the big liquid permeable filter and will therefore give a fully natural flow to the last drop. Another advantage is that you as a retailer can offer a beverage of any taste without any machines. Also, you can as a customer get a beverage of high quality even if you have access only to boiling water.

Thus, in summary, the embodiments of the present invention described above and illustrated in the drawings has, inter alia, the following advantages:

-   -   “lip”/edge enables “slurping”     -   thicker material in the “lip”/edge provides an insulating effect         -   thus avoiding burn damages     -   protrusion/tube enables filter to be positioned correctly         -   cheaper manufacturing         -   better fitting of filter/lid to container         -   possibility to add sugar/milk after lid is positioned             -   better aesthetic effect         -   enables user to detect filling ratio of container

Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described and shown, the invention is not restricted thereto, and may also be embodied in other ways within the scope of the subject-matter defined in the following claims. Thus, in order to achieve the object of the invention, the number of mounting members may vary and consequently be more than the one mounting member according to the illustrated embodiment. The mounting member or members may be located otherwise, e.g. eccentric and, if more than one mounting member is provided, around the centre of the annular cover portion. Also, the mounting member or members may be smaller or larger than the mounting member according to the illustrated embodiment. Furthermore, the mounting member or members may e.g. be solid and accordingly shaped otherwise than as a tubular protrusion. 

1. A sealing means (100) for a beverage container (110), wherein said sealing means (100) comprises an annular cover portion (230) for covering an opening at an upper end (120) of a beverage container (110), said annular cover portion (230) having an opening (210) through which liquid can be consumed from the beverage container (110) and a peripheral side wall portion (260) which is disposed around an outer peripheral edge (280) of the annular cover portion (230), and wherein said sealing means (100) also comprises a liquid permeable filter (240) positioned between the annular cover portion (230) of the sealing means (100) and the opening located at the upper end (120) of the beverage container (110), wherein the annular cover portion (230) of the sealing means (100) further is provided with at least one mounting member comprising a protrusion (250), the outer peripheral surface of which cooperates with the inner peripheral edge (410) of an opening (400) in the liquid permeable filter (240) for guiding said filter (240) during mounting thereof and for retaining said filter (240) after mounting thereof.
 2. The sealing means (100) according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion (250) is located centrally on the underside (235) of the annular cover portion (230), extending downwards therefrom.
 3. The sealing means (100) according claim 1, characterized in that the protrusion (250) is conical.
 4. The sealing means (100) according to claim 1, wherein the length of the protrusion (250) exceeds the height of the peripheral side wall portion (260) of the annular cover portion (230) such that the lower edge of said protrusion is found beneath the lower edge of said peripheral side wall portion.
 5. The sealing means (100) according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion comprises a tube (250) and wherein the annular cover portion (230) of the sealing means (100) further has another, second opening (220), providing access to the interior of the beverage container (110), about which said tube (250) is arranged.
 6. The sealing means (100) according to claim 1, wherein the annular cover portion (230) of the sealing means (100) defines a seat (265) for the liquid permeable filter (240).
 7. The sealing means (100) according to claim 6, wherein said seat (265) and said peripheral side wall portion (260) of the annular cover portion (230) define an attachment portion for the beverage container (110).
 8. The sealing means (100) according to claim 1, wherein the opening (210) through which liquid can be consumed from the beverage container (110) opens into a lip means (215) of the annular cover portion (230), said lip means emulating the shape of the rim of a mug or cup.
 9. The sealing means (100) according to claim 8, wherein the thickness of the material of the lip means (215) being greater than the thickness of the material of the annular cover portion (230), thereby enabling better insulation.
 10. The sealing means (100) according to claim 8, wherein the circumferential (310) of the lip means (215) equals ⅕ to ¼ of the total circumferential (320) of the annular cover portion (230). 